


Beautiful

by crueltyland



Series: John is a bit... [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Torchwood
Genre: Aliens, Fanart, Gen, John is not human, M/M, Parent Jack Harkness, Photomanip, Son John Watson, Torchwood - Freeform, appearance alteration, comments please!, first in series, half alien john, hopefully still in character, i tried my first photomanip, i tried!, well not completely
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 15:24:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7227919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crueltyland/pseuds/crueltyland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John's Dad comes to London. What happens when he meets Sherlock?<br/>(Formerly Someone Special)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful

John groaned, rubbing a hand over his tired face.

“Sherlock? My, uh, my dad is going to be in London this weekend and I wont be able to help you, alright?”

Sherlock rounded on him, frowning, “Your mother was pregnant when she married Angus Watson, Harry is only your half sister – half sister! I should have known!”

John looked away guiltily, “Yeah, just, just stop there please. I have to go to work, see you later.”

Sherlock watched him go with a suspicious glare from the sofa.

 

-

 

“Johnny!”

Wide eyed, John turned around, “Dad! What are you doing here?!”

A quick glance to the receptionist desk gave John the predictable view of a horde of giggling co-workers smiling at his father.

“What? I cant come pick you up from work? Come on, lets get a drink and you can tell me why you are still wearing that awful war-paint implant. You look about 200!”

John rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket, smiling awkwardly at Sarah as she waved him goodbye.

 

“So, hows the shoulder?”

“Daaaad, don’t! I know I shouldn’t have been there, its irresponsible, bla bla bla,” John whined.

“Well, thats true, but I was asking because, actually, I want to know if you are alright. Is that such a surprise?”

John sighed, “No, sorry. I’m sorry for being a brat.”

“Johnny, you’re my brat! Hows that mother of yours anyway?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

John scoffed, “She’s 65 and married to a homophobic alcoholic. Not a chance.”

“Well, what about your love life? Anyone special?”

Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “Not in that way. I’m living with a friend – him and his brother both are hyper intelligent. For the first few hours of knowing them I thought about asking Ianto for the lend of a scanner, but I checked pupil and skin reactions to my pheromone burst, discretely of course, and they are both definitely human.”

His father turned a knowing smirk, “Special then. Well you better take me back to your house. Lets meet this special human.”

 

-

 

Sherlock smelled John coming. An odd combination of warm sand, honey and a deeper, spicier musk that must have come from his sweat, though Sherlock had never come across anyone else with such an appealing natural scent.

The footsteps and swish of fabric had the genius frowning.

John opened the door and showed their guest in, appearing nervous.

“Why hello there. Johnny he _is_ pretty, isn’t he? What about the other one?” the stranger said in an odd American sounding purr.

“Sherlock, this is Jack Harkness. It might be a good idea to prepare for your brother to spontaneously visit.”

Sherlock glared at John and his visitor, then huffed out an irritated sigh and stormed off to his room to get dressed.

 

“Quite the talker there Johnny,” Jack teased, eyes flicking around the room.

“He is just-”

Interrupted by the tapping of an umbrella handle on the door frame and a calculating pair of eyes, John swallowed nervously.

Jack turned to him, his customary smile slipping for a moment, “Mycroft Holmes? Holmes has you nervous? Johnny, have you had your tea toady?”

John wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers and nodded, “I’m fine, lets just wait for Sherlock and we can all talk together.”

Obviously attempting to hide his confusion, Mycroft genially inclined his head and sat regally in his brothers chair, adjusting the positioning of the violin.

 

Sherlock swept back into the room less than a minute later and noticed immediately that the smirking, teasing smile of the American was replaced with a serious look, slightly concerned, slightly confused.

“Well, isn’t this a pretty party? Shall we get down to business then Johnny?” he asked, attempting to get the doctor to smile.

John nodded, tongue wetting his lips nervously, “Sherlock, Mycroft, this is my father. Dad, this is my flatmate and his brother.”

 

Mycroft, obviously being aware of Jack's true identity, lost his closely controlled mask for a moment, gaping open mouthed.

Sherlock stared at his brother and then looked at John, confused.

Jack sighed, “Obviously he has clearance, right? If you don’t work it out, I can, if you like, Mike?”

Mycroft shook his head, trying to clear the confusion, “Y-yes. My brother has high level clearance, but not regarding-”

John rolled his eyes, “Obviously, need to know and all that. Well, prepare for a crash course Sherlock. Mycroft, how much do you actually know?”

The older man frowned and shook his head, “I know the basics.”

 

Jack sighed and looked at the television, “Do you still have a DVD player? Are they outdated yet? I can never keep up with the twenty first century and your little technologies.”

John nodded, “Yep, do you want to just-”

“Yes, if we could-”

“Ah, good! That wire should be-”

“And if you just take two pins out of that old scart lead-”

“Aha!” John laughed, Jack grinning at him, ignoring the two frowning geniuses.

“Right, well,” John said, straightening and looking awkward again, “If you two just watch the TV for a little bit, you will understand what is going on a little better.”

 

Sherlock couldn’t hold back any longer, “I’m sorry John but I cant! He is obviously too young, too _American_ , to be your father! And you are talking differently! I don’t – I cant -”

John walked across the room, the smile dropping from his face, “Please, Sherlock. I know this is confusing but the information you need will be given to you. Just, just watch for 5 minutes, please?”

Sherlock nodded, still frustrated and frowning, but perched on the back of John's chair, watching the TV expectantly.

 

Jack pressed a button on his watch and followed John into the kitchen.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked his son.

John nodded, “If anyone could actually accept me for who I am, it will be Sherlock. I know everything is going to change, I just, I just don’t want to lose my best friend.”

Jack wrapped his arms around the man, stroking his back like he used to when John was younger, “It’ll be alright. You said yourself that they’re geniuses, geniusi, genii? I don’t know.”

The pulled away from each other, laughing, just in time to see a wide eyed Sherlock jump off the chair and begin pacing around the living room.

Mycroft looked to John, slightly dishevelled as if he had been running his fingers through his hair and loosened his tie.

Jack's voice sounded calmer than John could ever wish to be, “Time to face the music kiddo.”

 

“You are an extraterrestrial life form, from a different time period, who has fathered an unknown amount of children in an unknown amount of worlds and John is one of these?” Sherlock said, glaring.

Jack tilted his chin, “I have one child. John. Do not cross promiscuity with breeding.”

Mycroft cleared his throat, “I feel that this information should have been included in your file, John.”

John nodded, “Probably. But how likely would it have been that I would have been dragged off somewhere and tested on? Would I have been allowed to reach adulthood even? You know, Dad was gone and I didn’t see him between the ages of 2 and 14? I only had intermittent visits from The Doctor and you know what he is like.”

Mycroft nodded faintly, fingers clasping his umbrella again.

Sherlock turned his questing gaze from Jack to John, “I don’t know how I didn’t see it! You are wearing something that changes your appearance! Aren’t you?”

John swallowed, suddenly feeling upset.

Before he could change his mind, he stormed up the stairs to his room and locked the door.

 

Jack looked at Mycroft first, “You took that well, Holmes.”

Mycroft shrugged, “It was mostly hinted at in some files. The Doctor had apparently mentioned 'one or more semi-terrestrial' children living on earth and Martha Jones helped my office with a problem before Christmas last year. We are less informed than the Torchwood department, but not unaware.”

Jack smiled at that, then looked at Sherlock who was still half glaring at the door where John had left.

“What about you then? How are you taking it Sherlock?”

The detective turned to face jack then growled, raking fingers through his hair and tugging at his curls in frustration.

Mycroft stood, “Brother, this is something that was an impossibility. Do not fault yourself for not deducing it.”

Jack looked between the brothers incredulously, “You turned on my son because you blame yourself for not knowing what he is?”

Sherlock dropped into his chair, fingers questing for his violin, glaring at Mycroft for moving it, then gave a solitary nod.

Jack scoffed, “You need to grow up, kid. John has never told anyone before. This is kind of a big deal.”

Mycroft tilted his head, then walked to the door, “Do thank John for me, brother dear. Captain, another time?”

Jack nodded, saluting Mycroft, who just looked at him oddly and exited the building.

 

John sat on his bed, frowning.

Sherlock had lied to him, stolen from him, destroyed his property. The lanky genius had literally deprived him of sleep, of food and water, of other peoples company.

And still, finding out the last secret John had kept for himself made him turn against him.

John wiped away the tears that had started to fall, and laid back, burying his head in the pillow.

 

Jack dropped himself into Johns chair and rolled his eyes, “Are you stupid?”

Sherlock looked at him, incredulously.

“You pushed him away! He was trying to tell you everything. I don’t know how you two will ever actually have a date now.”

Sherlock startled, and stammered, “I, I, I, uh, John isn’t, we don’t-”

Jack cut him off with a soft laugh, “I saw how you look at him, genius-boy. He brought me here because you are his someone special. You know that already though, don’t you?”

Sherlock nodded, then grabbed his phone.

 

John heard the buzz of a notification and looked at his mobile.

1 new message:

From: Sherlock

_Come down. We need to talk. SH_

 

Jack popped the three cups of tea onto the coffee table with a perky smile and settled on the sofa, “Johnny, come on. Sit beside your old dad.”

Sherlock smiled thinly and John sighed, sitting down and lifting a cup.

“Now Johnny, Sherlock knows he overreacted. Lets just relax for a bit, alright?”

John nodded, “I’m sorry for surprising you Sherlock. It was sort of spur of the moment.”

Sherlock took a sip of tea and hummed, “Not to worry. Now, about this appearance moderation?”

Jack nodded excitedly, “Yes John! You aren’t in a war zone now. Can you extract the implant or do you need help? I have an excellent pathologist who is a dab hand with a scalpel.”

John glared at him, “I can do it myself, its just, everyone will ask questions about why I don’t look the same.”

Sherlock shrugged, “If you look human still it could be chalked up to an experiment of mine or a drug testing, something like that.”

Jack nodded, “Either that or you can just make them forget, Johnny.”

John frowned, “I never got the hang of that, and it would take a lot of work to dose everyone I have ever met.”

Jack shrugged, “Do whatever you want. Now, Sherlock, fist aid kit? I know my boy wouldn’t have one without a scalpel.”

 

John found himself topless in the bathroom, being watched by his best friend and his father as he looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.

“It's surreal isn’t it?” Jack asked with a soft smile.

Sherlock looked from father to son as John nodded and prodded at the bags under his eyes and the lines on his face, “I don’t know how I got so used to this face.”

Sherlock sensed a moment and cleared his throat, “I would like to make it clear that I will always hold you in high esteem John. Even though you are a half-alien. Half-human? Humanoid? What is the correct terminology?” he asked, turning to Jack, who simply laughed and shook his head.

 

John leaned back, perching on the edge of the bath and held the scalpel firmly in his right hand.

The small incision in his belly button did not bleed, but John dropped the scalpel into the bath behind him and reached out for Sherlock to hand him the tweezers.

With a small pull, a tiny silver-black oval device with six prongs came out, and Jack pulled Sherlock from the small room and quietly shut the door.

“He is going to need a minute to see himself. I remember the first time I wore one. Got stuck in it for years, and coming back to yourself is, well, you’ve done undercover work.”

Sherlock nodded and headed back into the living room, standing before the window and looking outside.

Awareness of aliens, more exciting and interesting than he had thought possible, endless possibilities and his friend being one of them. Today was turning out to be quite different to yesterday, even without a case.

 

John emerged less than ten minutes later, Sherlock heard, still facing the window.

“Oh Johnny! You look fantastic. Let me get you my tailors number. No, I have a better idea. Sherlock? Who is yours?”

Sherlock turned to answer the question and for the second time in the day was struck speechless.

John looked different, that was to be expected.

But, John looked remarkably different, but still like _John_.

He looked to be a lot younger, still the same height but more muscular build. His hair was golden blonde rather than grey flecked. His eyes remained the same deep, mesmerising blue but his lashes had become longer and thicker. His jaw was sharper too, more accentuated, and the few scars that had been on his cheeks were no longer there.

“Sherlock? I'm still me.” John said, somewhat warily.

Sherlock nodded, “You are quite beautiful.”

The room went still as John and Sherlock blinked in shock at that statement.

After a full minute of silence, Jack cleared his throat, “I think you boys better have a talk. Meet me on Saturday Johnny. Sherlock, good luck!”

 

-

 

John pulled on a faded blue tee-shirt and dropped into his chair.

“I think you are beautiful too, you know. Always have.”

Sherlock blinked.

“Your mind is the most beautiful thing I have ever been witness to,” John whispered.

Sherlock swallowed, “John I- I have felt affection for you for, well, for some time now. And that includes a degree of attraction obviously, but your self, your _true_ self is deeply appealing to me. To know you trust me with this secret, you trust me with yourself – that is surprisingly arousing.”

John smirked, “ _Arousing_ now, is it?”

 


End file.
